What will it cost to build the California high-speed train system?
The most current estimated cost to build the 800-mile system is about $45 billion. Once built, the system will not require operating subsidies and will generate over $1 billion in annual profits. The longer California waits to implement a high-speed train system, the more it will cost to construct. Every year that California waits to implement the high-speed train system, inflation causes the cost to construct the system to escalate. Development and other encroachments on potential high-speed train right-of-way also increase the expected costs. In Europe and Asia, high-speed train systems do not have a history of cost overruns. While the Chunnel in Europe did experience considerable cost overruns, this project was one of the most unique and complex construction projects in the history of mankind and among high-speed train projects. The cost and ridership projections for most of the high-speed train projects in Europe and Asia have been reasonably accurate. The capital costs developed b
